Historic Downtown Long Grove’s annual homage to strawberry season is one of the annual summer highlights in Chicagoland. Beloved by children and adults alike, Strawberry Fest consists of three consecutive days dedicated to all things strawberry, from cooks doling out strawberry BBQ to hungry young bellies competing in strawberry pie-eating contests. Although the festival begins and ends with the almighty strawberry, in no way is it an exclusive strawberry party. There will be something for every taste bud at Strawberry Fest 2018, including a classic carnival, three stages of live music, and the legendary Kid Zone with enduring summer entertainment and games.

“Strawberry Fest is the epidemy of summer fun in the Midwest,” said Kendra Perri, an event organizer with the Historic Downtown Long Grove Business Association. “It’s a mix of summer foods, summer tunes and summer games – with a charming small town as the backdrop!”

The first area of attraction at Strawberry Fest is of course the strawberries. Some of the area’s best restaurants and chefs set up shop to serve up unique strawberry-centric food and drink. This year, featured items include: strawberry BBQ sauces, deep fried strawberries on a stick, chocolate strawberry popcorn, strawberry kabobs, strawberry jams, strawberry fudge, funnel cakes with strawberries, strawberry smoothies, strawberry blintz, strawberry banana Nutella crepes, chocolate covered strawberries, strawberry donuts, strawberry shakes, strawberry ice cream, chocolate strawberry sundaes, and much more. In respect to non-strawberry eats, a wide variety of vendors will be on-hand dishing out everything from barbecue to other fruity summer delights.

Next is the live music. With three stages of non-stop, high quality tunes, there’s “never a dull moment.” Main stage headliners include 80’s & 90’s cover group, Wedding Banned (Friday), 80’s rock powerhouse, High Infidelity (Saturday), and the Grateful Dead tribute, Mr. Blotto (Sunday). The full music lineup can be found on the webpage at http://longgrove.org/festivals/strawberry-festival/.

For the kiddos, Strawberry Fest organizers are planning thrilling activities all weekend long in the Kid Zone (across from Village Tavern), including: Medieval Times Jr. Knight training, water balloon toss, bags, spin art coloring, face painting, martial arts demos, strawberry crafts, ongoing strawberry pie-eating competitions, and much more. To cap it off, a full carnival – with classic carnival rides and games from Fantasy Amusements – will be held the Archer parking lot all three days.

No matter which route you take, all roads lead to fun in Lake County, Illinois, which is located halfway between Chicago and Milwaukee. Lake County is home to 170 lakes and rivers, 30,000 acres of lush forest preserves, miles of hiking and biking trails, Six Flags Great America, Naval Station Great Lakes, Ravinia Festival and sandy beaches along Lake Michigan's shoreline. Family adventure is around every turn and awaits you in Lake County.